Lecture 1: General problems of Foreign Language teaching

An approach refers to theories about the nature of language and language learning that serve as the source of practices and principles in language teaching. A learning theory underlying an approach or method responds to two questions:

1. 
   What are the psycho-linguistic and Cognitive processes involved in language learning?
   
2. 
   What are the conditions that need to be met in order for these learning processes to be activated?
   

Learning theories associated with a method at the level of approach may emphasize either one or both of these dimensions. Process-oriented theories build on learning processes, such as habit formation, induction, inferencing, hypothesis testing, and generalization. Condition-oriented theories emphasize the nature of the human and physical context in which language learning takes place.
In order for an approach to lead to a method, it is necessary to develop a design for an instructional system. Design is the level of method analysis in which we consider;

1. 
   what the objectives of a method are;
   
2. 
   how language content is selected and organized within the method, that is, the syllabus model the method incorporates;
   
3. 
   the types of learning tasks and teaching activities the method advocates;
   
4. 
   the roles of learners;
   
5. 
   the roles of teachers
   
6. 
   the role of instructional material.
   

At the level of procedure, we are concerned with how these tasks and activities are integrated into lessons and used as the basis for teaching and learning. There are three dimensions to a method at the level of procedure;

1. 
   the use of teaching activities (drills, dialogues, information-gap activities, etc.) to present new language and to clarify and demonstrate formal, communicative, or other aspects of the target language;
   
2. 
   the ways in which particular in teaching activities are used for practicing language;
   
3. 
   the procedures and Techniques used in giving feedback to learners concerning the form or content of their utterances or sentences.